CAIRO: Imprisoned Tunisian publisher Nasreddine Ben Saida began a hunger strike from jail demanding his release after he was detained four days ago for publishing “indecent pictures” on the front page of his daily newspaper Attounissia. According to the newspaper's website, Ben Saida started the hunger strike on Saturday morning in opposition to his confinement. Ben Saida and the newspaper's Editor Habib Guizani and one of their journalists Mohamed Hedi Hidri were arrested on February 15, but Guizani and Hidri were released last Thursday after hours of questioning by police. Still, a judge ordered Ben Saida to stay in pre-trial detention on serious “public indecency” charges that could put him behind bars for years. The photos were of German-Tunisian football player Sami Khedira with a semi-naked model, but that day's issue was confiscated shortly before the men were arrested. “By bringing criminal charges, the prosecutor's office is showing that journalists can still go to prison for a newspaper article and is sending an extremely disturbing signal to all those who defend freedom of expression,” said Reporter Without Borders in a plea Friday for Ben Saida's release. “This is a hypocritical reaction because photos of this kind often appear on the cover of foreign magazines sold in Tunisia,” RWB said. If found guilty, Ben Saida could face a sentence anywhere from few months in prison to five years. “This portrayal of a press offense as a common crime is reminiscent of the political and administrative machinations that were used to convict journalists and gag the media when Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali was president.” Nude photos have sparked outrage among citizens across the Islamic world in recent months. In Egypt, blogger Aliya Mahdi posted a full-frontal nude photo of herself on her blog, which sparked anger from both liberals and conservatives alike. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/wjmMI Tags: featured, Jail, Khedira, Nude Photo, Publisher Section: Human Rights, Latest News, Media, Tunisia
